Could backup software help your company go green?

Lots more businesses are doing something about their impact on the environment.

Streamlining your office so that all your data is protected by backup software and you no longer have to rely on keeping paper documents could help your business become more environmentally friendly.

According to Wayne Hemingway, designer and environmentalist, lots of companies are tackling their non-green policies in order to boost their reputation and bottom line.

"The good thing about working with big industries is they’ve often got people at the head of it who are intelligent and who have also got the power to do something," he pointed out.

"So for example, Nissan, who are one of the sponsors of Climate Week, have just created the world’s first zero-emissions family car … they are actually making a commitment to be the most sustainable and to be the leader in emission-free motoring."

Meanwhile, Australia’s National Archives has announced its own plans for backing up important data, suggesting that when federal government agencies are able to digitalise everything, it will be easier to preserve documents in the future.

The Archives commented that "information today is more vulnerable than it ever has been … because lost, unreliable or poorly controlled information can have a significant impact on the quality and effectiveness of decision-making and other aspects of business".

It added that "digital information management needs to be considered as an integral component of business governance".

Its six-part plan may inspire organisations here in the UK to sort out their own offsite backup storage policies to ensure none of their data comes to harm in the instance of damage to their paper storage facilities.

By the end of this year, it appears likely that businesses will have to comply with new data protection rules if the European Commission is able to come to an agreement over how to reform the EU’s existing framework.